A "Romeo and Juliet" story set against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence in 1921, this is a hugely enjoyable romantic historical drama. Saying that the history of Anglo-Irish relations is contentious and often violent is a bit like saying that the Sun is hot but the film romanticises it in the wonderfully entertaining way that only 1930s Hollywood could. The film is well directed by H.C. Potter. The very strong script by John Balderston, Rose Franken and William Brown Meloney paints the war, which has never exactly been a particularly popular subject for the silver screen outside of the generally lacklustre Irish film industry, in broad strokes. That said, the depiction of the conflict is not overly simplistic as neither side is presented in black and white terms. As someone who knows a great deal about the Irish history of this period but is not terribly nationalistic about it, I appreciated that. Watching films about 1920s Ireland is a bit of a departure for me as my PhD concerns the period, albeit the drafting of statute post-1922 as opposed to the War of Independence, and I generally try not to think about my work while I am relaxing but I was prepared to make an exception in this case.
The film stars the underrated Brian Aherne in an excellent performance as Dennis Riordan, a prominent Irish revolutionary and minister in the government of the unofficial and unrecognised Irish Republic. Riordan is essentially a nicer and more honourable version of Michael Collins. Like Collins, he is one of the leaders of the IRA - which is now called the Old IRA to distinguish it from its later incarnations - and a senior member of the Irish delegation sent over to London to negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. I was not surprised that, with the exception of a photograph of Padraig Pearse, none of the actual Irish revolutionaries of the 1916-22 period were alluded to or mentioned by name in the film. In fact, I would have been shocked if they had been since many of the surviving ones were ministers in the then Irish government or had been ministers in the previous one. Riordan loves Ireland with a passion and is certainly prepared to fight for his country's freedom but he harbours an old dream of retiring to a little farm in Galway where he can forget about the conflict and live a normal life. When it comes to the controversial provisions of the Treaty, he is conflicted between his oath that he will do everything possible to secure a republic and his desire for peace after almost three years of warfare. While most of the Irish characters in the film are played by Irish actors, Aherne is the major exception as he was English, though he was of Irish descent as his name would suggest. His Irish accent is pretty variable, sometimes sounding more Scottish, but the strength of his performance means that it was surprisingly easy for me to overlook that.
Merle Oberon is great as his beloved enemy Helen Drummond, the daughter of the prominent British diplomat Lord Athleigh. At the beginning of the film, the British forces are unaware of what Riordan looks like and, after he is briefly arrested, he decides to have a little bit of fun with them by claiming to be Dennis Riordan, knowing that they will not believe. After running into each other again, Riordan and Helen spend the day together in the countryside and, as often happens in such films, fall madly in love in a flash. After Helen learns that the medical student Tom Casey is in fact Riordan, she alerts her father and the authorities in the Viceregal Lodge (now the President of Ireland's official residence Áras an Uachtaráin) and they unsuccessfully attempt to arrest him at a cattle market. Helen soon comes to regret her decision and goes to Riordan to apologise, telling him that she loves him. Aherne and Oberon have great chemistry and their scenes together are very romantic and occasionally moving, even if they are in no way realistic. While much is made of Riordan and Helen's different nationalities, this is no mention of the fact that he is almost certainly a Catholic and she is almost certainly a Protestant, which would have been a very pressing issue under the circumstances. Riordan's fellow Irish revolutionaries believe that his love affair with an English aristocrat is clouding his judgement and make him swear an oath that he will never see her again, at least in private. When Riordan - who holds the casting vote - decides to sign the Treaty, the more radical republicans in the movement believe that it is because of Helen's influence and attempt to assassinate him. However, the fictional Riordan fared better than the real Collins as he survives the attempt.
In one of his first major roles, David Niven is very good as the charming Captain Gerald Preston. His feelings for Helen are not returned but he accepts the consistent rejection with grace and charm. It's a good thing that Niven wasn't cast as Riordan as he is so quintessentially English that I could never buy him as a Michael Collins stand-in! Henry Stephenson, the poor man's C. Aubrey Smith, is dull and forgettable as Lord Athleigh. The effortlessly fantastic character actor Donald Crisp is very good as Liam Burke, the most radical of the radicals. In contrast to Riordan, Burke is not based on any senior Irish revolutionary in particular but he has traces of Eamon de Valera and Cathal Brugha. He'd have been better as Lord Athleigh as well, come to think of it.
Overall, this is a very entertaining film. It is far from an entirely accurate depiction of Ireland in 1921 but it was never supposed to be anything of the sort.
